Indian Navy may order ships from Korea

India and South Korea this week will lay the groundwork for defence cooperation during the first visit of a South Korean defence minister to India. The two country?s defence ministers will be discussing matters of mutual interest and, according to a statement from the Indian Defence Ministry, various steps to strengthen the existing defence cooperation between both the countries were examined.

Topping that agenda will be cooperation in shipbuilding, a senior Indian Defence Ministry official said. India is keen to get its warships built in South Korea to meet the Indian Navy?s rising demand for more ships and small vessels. To begin with, South Korea could receive a contract for construction of a frigate and an escort vessel for the Indian Navy. Currently India?s shipbuilding capability is saturated, but the Navy plans to buy more warships as a large number of obsolescent vessels will be scrapped in the next five years.